Steve Nash Looking to Sign a Three-Year Deal This Summer

Steve Nash, 38, will be one of the more intriguing free agents on the market this summer, and with his back feeling pretty good this season, Nash has his eyes set on inking a three-year deal. Per ESPN: “With the Phoenix Suns clinging to their playoff lives in the Western Conference, star point guard Steve Nash insists his back feels ‘the best it’s felt in a decade.’ Nash said he intends to ‘sign for three more years this summer’ and play beyond his 40th birthday when he either inks a new deal to stay with the Suns or finds a new team via free agency. Responding to a New York Post report in Tuesday’s editions which described the condition of Nash’s back as ‘bad as it has ever been,’ Nash strongly disputed such suggestions. He expressed great satisfaction with the way his health has held up through the rigors of a lockout-compacted schedule that called for 66 regular-season games in a span of about 120 days. ‘It’s been my best year physically from start to finish in a long time,’ Nash said. ‘Other than a little tweak (last week) against San Antonio, my back’s been pretty close to 100 percent.’ The Post report noted that Nash has taken more than eight shots only once in his past 10 games and pinpointed back issues as the reason why Nash’s field-goal attempts are down. Nash, though, says the overwhelming attention he gets from opposing defenses — on a team with no scorer adept at creating his own shot and no one averaging more than center Marcin Gortat’s 16.1 points per game — is the only factor keeping his shot totals in single digits. ‘Maybe I could be more aggressive looking for my shot, but every team we play traps me (frequently) or (jumps) out hard at me on the pick-and-roll,’ Nash said. ‘So my thinking is, ‘Get it out of my hands as fast as possible and it’s four on three or three on two for my teammates.’ It seems to be working. We’ve been playing a lot better (since the All-Star break). I’m not just going to be forcing up shots to improve my numbers.’”